Hebrew to English Literary Translation – Some Day, Netanya and The Remains of Love

In spite of the general lack of translation from Hebrew to English in the literary field, several pieces have been recently published that provide an insight into Israeli culture and society, as well as into the way Israelis live and think. This view, independent of what can be seen in the media, enriches the comprehension of the English-speaking world and serves as evidence of how inventive contemporary Hebrew literature can be.

The majority of the pieces written in Hebrew do not get a translation into English. As Howard Freedman states in his article, “Only Yesterday” written by Nobel Prize winner S. Y. Agnon in 1945, was only translated more than fifty years afterwards in spite of being considered the best novel ever to have been written in the Hebrew language. However, this has not been the case with “Some Day” by Shemi Zarhin; “Netanya” by Dror Burstein; or “The Remains of Love” by Zeruya Shalev, contemporary works which have been recently translated into English.

Some Day

Some Day narrates the story of a boy called Shlomi, who falls in love with Ella, the daughter of Ashkenazi Holocaust survivors. Each character in the play is well developed and provides an interesting perspective to analyse the lives in Israel. Tiberias, the city where the author was born, is portrayed as if it were another character in the family saga which develops in a period of several decades, between 1969 and 1983. Another topic addressed, and into which English speakers can immerse themselves as a consequence of translation, is that of the tension between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews.

Netanya

Netanya is a book written by one of Israel’s most innovative contemporary writers. The piece develops entirely around the image of a narrator who is on a bench in Tel Aviv looking at the sky. On that night, the narrator fuses his knowledge of the sky, the planets and the cosmos with his personal life. The stories are told as true accounts of Burstein’s family.

The Remains of Love

The Remains of Love’s innovative style develops the story, set in Jerusalem, from the perspective of several narrative voices which fluctuate between a variety of characters. In some cases, the narrative voice merges with actual monologues which are direct insights into the minds of the characters. The story is based on a dying mother and the relationship (including both positive and negative consequences of it) with her son and daughter.

About Agustina Marianacci

Agustina, a.k.a. Agus, is an Argentinian writer and translator with too much to tell and too little time to do so. She is funny and witty, and this must be true given that she is writing this little description herself. Her favourite activities involve reading, traveling, and correcting people’s language use in the least annoying way possible, which, let me tell you, is an art in itself. You can also find Agus at Google Plus.